DR.

SAMUEL JOHNSON Sejal Desai

EVALUATION OF AU160010
Literary criticism

SHAKESPEARE Syba
DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON
18th century critic
He was not only the critic but also a poet, a dramatic as well as a person who be can
in a way journalism because he wrote in his own periodical essays.
He is known as a critic for his two important critical works. They are lives of poets
(example of biographical criticism) and preface to Shakespeare.
CHARACTERS
Shakespeare’s characters- are a just representation of human nature as they deal with passions
and principles which are common to humanity. They are also true to the age, profession to which
they belong and hence the speech of one cannot be put in the mouth of another. His characters
are not exaggerated. Even when the agency is supernatural, the dialogue is level with life.
His characters are the common progeny of common humanity. “other poets, says Johnson,
present a character as an individual; Shakespeare’s characters “is commonly a species.”
‘Shakespeare has no heroes; his scenes are occupied only by men, who act and speak as the
reader thinks that he should himself have spoken or acted on the same occasion. They are not
demi gods and super men but men whom we recognise as fellow human beings.
His character act and speak under the influence of human passions. By using durable speech
derived from “the common intercourse of life”, Johnson views Shakespeare as “one of the
original masters of our language.
PLAYS
Shakespeare’s plays are a storehouse of practical wisdom and from them can be
formulated a philosophy of life. Moreover, his plays represent the different passions
and not love alone. His events portrayed according with probability.
Johnson praises Shakespeare and comments, “His drama is the mirror of life”.
According to Johnson, his plays are so realistic that we get practical knowledge from
them. He further says, “Shakespeare’s plays are not in the rigorous and critical sense
either tragedies or comedies, but compositions of a distinct kind.”
FAULTS
The first defect is that Shakespeare is “more careful to please than to instruct that he seem to write
without moral purpose. The problem is that he makes no contribution to good and evil, leaving his
examples of good and bad actions “to operate by chance”. Johnson insists that it is a writer’s duty to
make the world better”.
He cites another defect, looseness of plots. Whereby he omits opportunities of instructing/delighting”.
Lack of regard for distinction of time/space such that persons from one age/place are indiscriminately
given attributes pertaining to other eras and locations. Include KING LEAR.
Grossness and licentiousness of his humour.
Coldness and pomp of his narrations and set speeches.
Failure to follow through with scenes that evoke terror and pity.
A perverse and digressive fascination with quibbles and wordplay.
JOHNSON DEFENCE ON
SHAKESPEARE USE OF
UNITIES
Shakespeare’s histories are neither tragedy nor comedy and hence he is not required to
follow classical rules of unities. The only unity he needs to maintain in his histories is
the consistency and naturalness in his characters and this he does so faithfully. In his
other works, he has well maintained the unity of action. His plots have the variety and
complexity of nature, but have a beginning, middle and an end, and one event is
logically connected with another, and the plot makes gradual advancement towards the
denouement.
Shakespeare shows no regard for the unities of Time and place, and according to
Johnson, these have troubled the poet more than it has pleased his audience. The
observance of these unities is considered necessary to provide credibility to the drama.
But, any fiction can never be real, and the audience knows this. Drama is a delusion, and
delusion has no limits. Therefore, there is no absurdity in showing different actions in
different places.
As regards the unity of Time, Shakespeare says that a drama imitates successive
actions, and just as they may be represented at successive places, so also they may be
represented at different period, separated by several days. The only condition is that
the events must be connected with each other.
Johnson further says that drama moves us not because we think it is real, but because it
makes us feel that the evils represented may happen to ourselves. Imitations produce
pleasure or pain, not because they are mistaken for reality, but because they bring
realities to mind. Therefore, unity of Action alone is sufficient, and the other two
unities arise from false assumptions. Hence it is good that Shakespeare violates them.
He perfected the blank verse, imparted to it diversity and flexibility and brought it
nearer to the language of prose.
Inquiring into the reasons behind Shakespeare’s enduring success, Johnson makes an
important general statement, “nothing can please many, and please long, but just
representation of general nature.” if a work describe a particular manner of particular
times and particular places, then his work will not attain world wide popularity. The
content can be enjoyed only by a few who are acquainted with that period and
people.
Johnson agrees with the tradition that Shakespeare lacked formal learning, the
greatest part of his excellence “was a product of his own genius”.
TRAGIC-COMEDY
Shakespeare’s use of tragic comedy: Shakespeare has been much criticized for mixing tragedy and comedy, but
Johnson defends him in this. Johnson says that in mixing tragedy and comedy, Shakespeare has been true to
nature, because even in real life there is a mingling of good and evil, joy and sorrow, tears and smiles etc. this
may be against the classical rules, but there is always an appeal open from criticism to nature. Moreover, tragic ­
comedy being nearer to life combines within itself the pleasure and instruction of both tragedy and comedy.
Shakespeare’s use of tragicomedy does not weaken the effect of a tragedy because it does not interrupt the
progress of passions. In fact, Shakespeare knew that pleasure consisted in variety. Continued melancholy or
grief is often not pleasing. Shakespeare had the power to move, whether to tears or laughter.
Another defect highlighted by Johnson is that Shakespeare does not give much consideration to plot
construction. Initially, in the preface, Johnson praises Shakespeare for his universality, his not belonging to any
one age, place or time but then, he contradicts with himself as he identifies it a flaw of Shakespeare’s style.
For Johnson, clarity and diction are important. Johnson criticizes Shakespeare’s use of language. According to
him, Shakespeare is not of civilized kind and is also over-punning. Sometimes, it seems that Shakespeare is
involved in providing mere dialogues not related to the plot.
STYLISTIC FEATURES
He does not use difficult language or rhetorical languages but he uses common
language of common man in daily conversation in order to depict variety of events
and variety of characters therefore the richness of Shakespeare play he is regarded by
Dr. Johnson as important writer as the ancient classical writers.
REFERENCES
http://ddceutkal.ac.in/syllabus/MA_English/paper_02.pdf